Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) Shares Gap Up to $25.61

Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $25.61, but opened at $26.23. Rentokil Initial shares last traded at $26.33, with a volume of 116,184 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RTO has been the subject of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas raised Rentokil Initial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Bank of America downgraded Rentokil Initial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th.

Rentokil Initial Stock Up 3.2 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $28.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.61.

Rentokil Initial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.3784 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This is a positive change from Rentokil Initial’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.18. This represents a dividend yield of 1.6%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rentokil Initial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RTO. Morgan Stanley bought a new position in shares of Rentokil Initial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $87,191,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Rentokil Initial during the fourth quarter valued at $77,547,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD bought a new position in Rentokil Initial during the fourth quarter valued at $51,291,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Rentokil Initial during the fourth quarter valued at $21,535,000. Finally, Gates Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Rentokil Initial by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Gates Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,155,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,490,000 after purchasing an additional 528,409 shares during the period. 9.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rentokil Initial Company Profile

Rentokil Initial plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides route-based services in North America, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and internationally. It offers a range of pest control services for rodents, and flying and crawling insects, as well as other forms of wildlife management for commercial customers.